Nicaragua’s Human Rights Crisis
Since Daniel Ortega became president of Nicaragua in 2007, he and his administration have been accused of political repression and the democratic erosion, especially after the 2014 abolishment of presidential term limits by his party and the subsequent concentration of power. Furthermore, the Ortega administration has been cracking down on academic institutions, especially considering the fundamental role that students played in the 2018 protests against Ortega’s presidential actions, despite the violence that ensued. Many experts and human rights activists have expressed concern for Nicaragua based on the actions of the Ortega administration. His administration’s actions have caused widespread impacts throughout various sectors including within the academic sphere, democratic erosion, and violent suppression.
Recent actions of the Ortega administration have been directed toward academic institutions, like universities. A UN panel has documented that in recent years 27 private universities have had their statuses revoked and have been placed under government control in Nicaragua. Young academics in particular, who were central to 2018 protests that aimed to combat the president’s power consolidation and to call for his resignation, have been targeted by the Ortega regime and have been prosecuted. Human rights violations also occurred during 2018 street protests against Ortega’s regime at the hands of the Nicaraguan government. These protests mainly began in response to reductions in social security, but these widespread anti-government protests that called for President Ortega’s resignation were violently suppressed by the National Police of Ortega’s presidency. Hundreds of protestors were detained, 355 people were left dead, and approximately 2,000 were injured during the protests. This demonstrates the long-standing impacts that the Ortega administration has had and how their choices have already prompted widespread protest by citizens throughout the country.
Moreover, since 2018, at least 150 students have even been expelled from universities in the country because of their participation in protests against government abuses. Leaders of universities expressing support for student protests are also at risk for governmental acts of retaliation. The evidence of a failing democracy is considerable in Nicaragua’s higher learning sector. According to Jan-Michael Simon, Chair of the Group of Human Expert on Nicaragua, “the university sector of Nicaragua as a whole no longer has independent institutions. Nicaragua is being stripped of its intellectual capital and critical voices.”
The Ortega administration has also taken action against political opponents. Seven presidential candidates, along with 32 additional leading dissidents, were detained between May and October 2021 alone. Many of these people were charged but were denied proper due process. One prominent dissident politician was Hugo Torres Jiménez who died in state custody after being detained. According to Human Rights Watch, “Authorities have barred critics’ lawyers from participating in public hearings, assigning public defenders instead. Despite repeated requests, most lawyers had no access to court documents for months.” When opponents of Ortega are imprisoned, charges typically cite “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.”
The Ortega administration has also exiled political dissidents and stripped them of their Nicaraguan citizenship. In February 2023, 94 critics of the president were exiled. Critics of Ortega are unable to return to their country safely. Legislation put in place for exiling political opponents has been denounced by the United Nations as violating international law. According to the United Nations, “the recent legislative reforms in Nicaragua allowing for citizenship-stripping on arbitrary grounds run contrary to Nicaragua’s obligations under international and regional human rights law.” Many journalists have also been punished through Ortega’s decisions to restrict freedom of expression and many have even experienced harassments that have gone unpunished. According to the organization Reporters Without Borders, Nicaragua is one of the most unsafe and “hostile” countries for journalists to practice. At least 4 journalists had been declared “traitors to the homeland” after fleeing Nicaragua and were, thereby, revoked of their citizenship. Furthermore, La Prensa, a newspaper, and many of its journalists have had to enter exile and now operate in Costa Rica.
The Ortega administration in Nicaragua has engaged in numerous human rights violations, for example repressing academics and revoking the legal status of universities, killing or arresting opponents, denying people due process or their citizenship rights, as well as harassing journalists and repressing freedom of expression. The criminalization of political opposition since 2018 is indicative of Ortega’s abusive centralization of power and limited constitutional checks on his presidency. The consequences may worsen for journalists and academics, forcing more to flee or face legal ramifications from his administration’s unjust laws. This, including the use of excessive force by the National Police, demonstrate a threat to democracy and freedom of expression in Nicaragua. Ortega’s actions have limited democracy in Nicaragua, destabilizing the country, initiating a human rights crisis in Nicaragua, and enabling a danger that his pursuits may threaten the democratic stability of other Latin American countries.